“I remember that too.” My nose crinkled as I readied myself to tell her why I couldn’t do what she’d done. “I can’t sleep with him though.”
“Why not? Is he with someone?” While Sadie might be open to one-night stands, she still had limitations. Anyone already in a relationship was off limits. She didn’t like cheaters.
“Yeah. Emma.” A weight lifted off my shoulders. It was nice to finally tell someone.
“No way!” She shouted in my ear so loud, I had to pull my phone away. “Your sister is marrying your dream guy from childhood? Wait a minute, is this the Facebook guy you were stalking when I first met you?”
Damn it, she’d clicked it all together. “Yup.” I didn’t give her a chance to freak out, I pressed forward with what was really bothering me. “What makes it worse is that I was flirting with him before I found out.”
“Oh my God.” Her tone made my cheeks heat. “Was he flirting back?” There was skepticism in her voice. I knew where she was going with it. If I said yes, she would insist I tell Emma everything.
“Not really.”
“He either was or he wasn’t. There isn’t an in between when it comes to flirting.”
“He wasn’t. He was just being nice.” A chilly breeze blew a few strands of hair in my face, and I swiped them behind me ear. “When we ran into each other in the gas station, he only spoke to me because we hadn’t seen each other in so long. I think he was surprised to see me. It wasn’t anything flirty, just hellos and how have you beens.”
“But…?” she pressed, knowing there was more to the story.
“But, when I spotted him swimming at the lake the other night, it was something different. Almost like there would have been some flirting happening, if he hadn’t been involved with my sister already.” Was I right in saying so, or had I imagined it all? The sentence he’d never finished popped into my head. I knew where that conversation would have gone. Had he not been in a relationship with my sister, or anyone for that matter, I would have been talked into skinny-dipping with him in the lake.
Goose bumps prickled along my skin from the thought. Even though he was with Emma, I couldn’t deny the attraction I still felt toward him. Thank God I was going home in a few hours, because this internal tetherball match with my emotions was driving me insane.
“Did he tell you that he was marrying your sister? Was that how everything came to a halt?”
“No. He sort of walked away from me,” I admitted.
“He walked away from you?” She sounded appalled. “Without saying anything about your sister?”
“It was a weird moment.” I sighed, wondering how I could explain to her the situation I was in. “We used to go to the lake when we were kids and swim all the time. That is actually where he gave me my first kiss.”
“Okay. Wait. You’re confusing me. Why did he give you your first kiss? I thought he was a crush, not an old boyfriend.”
“He was just a crush.” It seemed so wrong to say that. Dawson had been more to me than a crush. “He’s Emma’s age, so he’s like three years older than me. He was leaving for college. I was sad he was leaving, and confessed my feelings for him. You know how that goes. I thought I could make him stay or something.” Embarrassment crawled through me, slow and torturous from admitting that out loud.
“And?” she pressed. This was apparently the type of juiciness she had wanted to hear.
“Obviously, I was too young for him to date. I don’t know how it happened, but then he kissed me.” If I tried, I could still feel his warm lips pressing against mine. It was so gentle and sweet.
“Was it perfect?” There was a dreaminess embedded within her question. It was the hopeless romantic coming out in her.
“Yeah, it was.” I cleared my throat. “So, I was sort of caught up in the nostalgia of the moment and flirted with him a little the other night. I think the same thing happened to him. It didn’t last long, a few seconds maybe, and then he was climbing out of the water and gone.”
“And he didn’t mention asking your sister to marry him?”
“No. He just said he would see me around.” The slight sting of rejection stabbed through me again. “And then I saw him tonight. He was the first person to arrive. Didn’t take me long to figure out why.”
“What dress did you have on?” Sadie asked as though it mattered.
“The black one.”
“Oh, honey. I’m so sorry. You were really looking to reel that guy in, weren’t you?”
My throat felt pinched closed as tears pricked my eyes. “I was.” I took in a deep breath and squared my shoulders as I blinked back my tears. “It’s fine though. Emma is happy. Really happy. You should see the two of them together; they’re like couple of the year.”
“That’s good.” There was a cautious tone to her words. I knew she didn’t believe my sudden happiness for my sister.
“He moved back to town because his dad has lung cancer, and he’s taking care of him. He understands what Emma is going through, because he’s going through something similar with his dad,” I said. “They need each other. Emma needs him. She gets this sparkle in her eyes when she looks at him. I’m happy for them. I really am.” I wasn’t sure who I was trying to convince more, her or me.
“Good.” Sadie paused, and I knew there was more she wanted to say. “But you know, when you have kids one day, and they ask about your first kiss, you’re going to have to tell them it was with their uncle, right?”
I died laughing. “Leave it to you to point out the most screwed up thing about the situation.”
“That’s why you love me,” she said in a singsong voice. “But seriously, you do realize that, right? You’re going to screw your kids up for life if you tell them the truth.”
“Oh my God.” I couldn’t control my laughter.
“I mean it.” She chuckled. “Better think of something now.”
“I’ll try. I promise.”
“Okay, good.” She breathed a dramatic sigh of relief. “I should probably get off here and let you get some sleep.”
“Yeah.” I yawned. “I’ll see you around six-ish.”
“Be careful driving.”
“Always.”
“Night.”
“Night.” I hung up, and made my way back inside as quietly as I could.
I SAT ON MY suitcase, hoping it would compress the contents enough so I would be able to zip the damn thing back up. Why did clothes always seem to fit so nicely the first time you packed them, but then the second time around they appeared to swell ten sizes, making it impossible to cram back in?
“Did you get everything?” Emma was standing behind me.
“I think so.” I pulled on the zipper, forcing it to close the last few inches. “If I forgot anything important, you can just mail it to me.”
“Okay.” She folded her arms over her chest, and dropped her eyes to the floor. I got the impression there was something she wanted to say, but wasn’t sure how.
I waited a few seconds, giving her time to gather the words. “What?”
She shrugged. “I just feel bad we didn’t get to spend a lot of time together this weekend.”
I hoisted my suitcase off the bed and onto the floor. “It’s okay. I know you were busy making sure the party happened without a glitch, and keeping an eye on Mom.”
“Nothing happened the way I wanted it to. I planned on helping decorate the house with you while we laughed and caught up on stuff.” She lifted her gaze to meet mine. “I wanted to tell you about Dawson before the party, before you saw us together.”
“It’s okay,” I lied.
“No, it’s not.” She shook her head. “I remember how you felt about him growing up, and I wanted to make sure you were okay with everything.” She chewed her bottom lip as she waited for what I would say next. I’d never seen my sister so nervous before, especially not for something that involved me.